Posted by Carol on January 21, 2013 at 12:48:37
In Reply to: Re: Who had a lower pay check this week? posted by Pastor Don on January 17, 2013 at 19:46:07:
Social Security doesn't have anything left in it now--Congress has borrowed against it. All that's sitting in the Social Security account is an IOU, which is why it's not a good idea to support any move to default on the debt--like refusing to raise the debt ceiling.
There are basically three ways to get out of this hole we've dug, and we need the so-called balanced approach of all three. Restructuring the debt, cutting spending, and raising revenue.
Restructuring the debt is stuff like raising the age someone can cash in on the full amount in government-backed retirement and medical insurance programs to something like 68 or 70. Or spreading the burden of health care financing across the entire adult population instead of only two-thirds of working adults. According to the Supreme Court, that qualifies as raising taxes. There's no free lunch. If we live to an average age of 86 after qualifying for Medicare at 65, you and I will never have payed into Medicare as much as we will have taken out of it.
While Obamacare is supposed to spread out the cost of financing everyone's health care, it does nothing to lower the rising cost of service delivery. That's rationing, the big bugaboo used to stop support for a single-payer system like Canada's. Except we already have rationing in the current system. It's called managed care.
The best way to lower the cost of back-end care (like cardiovascular surgery) is to pump money into prevention and early intervention. Frankly, I look forward to living in a nanny state that incentivises people not to smoke, to control their weight, to get regular exercise and manage stress mindfully. I prefer that sort of state intrusion over paying for the libertarian "right" we have now to trash our health for 40-50 years and then receive expensive medical care subsidized by private & public health insurance premiums. The US has some of the lowest ranked health outcomes per capita spending in the developed world. It's way past time to restructure the US health system, and Obamacare didn't go nearly far enough. Be prepared for more out-of-pocket expenses for your health care.
On cutting spending: By what rationale does the US need five times as many aircraft carriers in service as any other country on the planet? Look at these statistics and try to convince a rational person that the US military budget is not bloated:
You want to cut welfare programs like food stamps and school lunches? Go ahead. Food stamps are just another form of farm subsidies. Poor people will find a way to eat if we cut off corporate welfare to agribusiness. We've had a policy of Social Darwinism for at least 30 years--it's high time we spread some of that manure around in agribiz.
Yes, I feel very frustrated about the federal deficit. I don't see many politicians from either party willing to do anything but kick the can down the road. And that because (I believe) WE THE PEOPLE let them get away with it. One of the main ways we let the bastards get away with it is by buying into partisan divisions.